Since discovering that the puppets could unleash explosive power, Lei Qi had thrown himself into battle after battle. Aside from his brief moments of rest and recovery, his days were spent clashing endlessly with the puppets of the Thunder Clan's ancestral land.
Seasons changed — spring to autumn, winter to spring — until five long years had passed.
During this time, Lei Qi's cultivation method evolved into a High Earth-tier Thunder Technique, and he had ascended to the third level of the ancestral realm.
His cultivation now stood proudly at the Dou Huang Realm.
In nearly seven years, Lei Qi had advanced from Dou Zhe to Dou Huang — without using a single external resource, relying only on the harsh trials of this land.
Such progress was unheard of, even among the Thunder Clan's most talented geniuses. This place truly lived up to its reputation — the ancestral land of the Thunder Clan, forged by their ancient ancestors to temper blood and bone.
While there were no spirit herbs or elixirs here, every battle, every bolt of lightning consumed vast energy. In the eyes of the clan, training here was equivalent to consuming resources of unimaginable value.
"Bang!" "Boom!"
Thunder roared as a Dou Huang puppet clashed violently with Lei Qi.
They had been fighting for days. The puppet's strength was at least equivalent to a Five-Star Dou Huang, and unlike the dull automatons before, this one fought like a living warrior. Its movements were deliberate, calculated — filled with hidden trump cards and precise timing.
If it had been a true person, Lei Qi doubted he could stand against it. Even now, his odds were razor-thin.
Still, curiosity burned within him. What kind of treasure did such a powerful puppet guard?
He already possessed Heaven-tier techniques and Earth-tier fighting skills, but his mastery of the Heaven-tier ones was far from complete. The Dou Qi consumption was so enormous that using them recklessly would completely drain him.
If not for that, this puppet would have been destroyed long ago.
But the very difficulty of killing it only proved its worth.
"Thunderbolt Dance!""Sparks of Fire!""Heavenly Thunder Seal!"
Lei Qi unleashed everything he had. Thunder and fire interwove as his Dou Qi flared to its peak.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Each attack exploded with the force of a natural disaster. The battlefield vanished under waves of blinding light and rising smoke.
When the haze cleared, the Dou Huang puppet was flung backward, its metal armor cracked and sparking.
Lei Qi didn't hesitate. His Thunder Wings flared open, and in a flash of light, he appeared above the puppet.
The spear descended."Bang!"
The puppet's skull shattered — its body collapsing into the scorched earth below.
Panting heavily, Lei Qi wiped the sweat from his brow. "Finally…"
Just then, his eyes widened.
From the puppet's broken remains rose a streak of black lightning. It pulsed faintly, like a living thing.
Black Demonic Lightning?
No — this was something far more sinister. Its presence was deeper, darker, ancient in a way that defied reason.
Still, it exuded the aura of pure power. And to a cultivator, power was temptation.
"It should be safe," Lei Qi muttered, convincing himself. "This place was built by my ancestors. It won't harm me…"
He sat cross-legged and began to absorb it.
"Zzzzzzz…"
The moment the black lightning entered his body, agony struck.
It was as if countless blades of thunder were slicing through every nerve, every vein, every cell.
"Ah—!"
For the first time in years, Lei Qi screamed. His body trembled violently. Cracks began to spread across his skin, glowing faintly like fissures filled with molten light.
If he stopped now, the lightning would explode from within, tearing him apart completely. He had no choice but to refine it or die.
"Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!"
The black lightning raged inside him like a wild beast. But as his body threatened to collapse, the ancestral land itself responded — countless streams of ordinary thunder energy descended from above, pouring into his broken meridians.
That lightning both damaged and healed him simultaneously — destroying and rebuilding, again and again.
Were it not for the protection of the Thunder Clan's domain, Lei Qi knew he would have perished instantly.
The battle between destruction and creation continued until the entire region quaked.
"Rumble… Rumble…""Tear!!!"
The sound shook the heavens.
Not far away, Lei Dong, who had just reached the third floor, turned toward the deafening explosions.
"What the—?!"
His eyes widened at the sight.
Lei Qi sat in the middle of a lightning storm, naked, his skin covered in cracks and glowing veins of power.
Lei Dong didn't know what his friend was enduring, but he knew one thing — if Lei Qi survived this, he would emerge completely transformed.
Clenching his fists, he whispered, "You'd better make it through this… because I'll be the one to surpass you someday."
He didn't leave. The chaos had drawn countless puppets toward them.
As Lei Qi continued to refine the black lightning, Lei Dong leapt into battle, intercepting the approaching puppets one by one.
Though only a Five-Star Dou Wang, Lei Dong fought fiercely. Three Dou Wang puppets and five Dou Ling puppets surrounded him — but he wasn't backing down.
Activating a secret technique he had recently discovered, he began absorbing the thunder energy of the land itself.
His aura exploded.
In a matter of moments, his cultivation skyrocketed — straight into the Dou Huang Realm!
Empowered by the secret art, he tore through the puppets like a storm, reducing them to smoldering wrecks in less than an hour.
As Lei Dong caught his breath, Lei Qi's body finally stabilized. The black lightning had been contained — but barely.
Its energy pulsed within him like a sealed demon, threatening to burst free at any moment.
"I can't control this power," Lei Qi realized. "If I stay here any longer, it'll tear me apart."
He opened his eyes and looked at Lei Dong."Thank you. But I have to leave. I'll explain everything when you return."
Lei Dong frowned. "Leave? We still have two years left. The energy here is pure — you're just going to walk away?"
"I don't have a choice," Lei Qi replied with a strained smile. "This lightning is too violent. If I don't find the Clan Leader soon… I might explode."
Before Lei Dong could say another word, the space around them rippled violently.
A towering figure appeared — the Clan Leader, Lei Ying.
The pressure of a late Eight-Star Dou Sheng filled the air. The seals of the ancestral land resisted even him; he couldn't remain for long.
Without a word, Lei Ying grasped Lei Qi's shoulder, and the two vanished in a flash of thunder, leaving Lei Dong standing alone amidst the crackling ruins.